Nine days ago I got a long series of photos of a Golden Eagle taking off and in flight. Six days ago I posted some of those photos to my blog but last night I found three more that I think deserve to be seen. Given how I feel about Golden Eagles, I think it would be a shame if they never saw the light of day.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
“She” took off from a low rock with the intention of landing on another low rock far away so she hugged the ground for the entire trip. It took a lot of effort for her to gain speed quickly enough to get and keep her airborne, which I think shows in her wing positions and overall flight postures.
Just look at her hunched back and those severely curled primaries. It’s a wonder that some of the feathers on her right wing didn’t break under the stress.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Four frames later she was still only a couple of feet off the ground as she worked at gaining airspeed.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Five frames after that we can see her legs and feet, which are still hanging down below her as evidence that she had only recently taken off. When she eventually gained enough speed, she tucked her legs and feet beneath her tail for the rest of the trip.
As you’ve probably heard in the news, storm-fatigued California is preparing for their 12th “atmospheric river” of the season, bringing more rain, snow and misery to large parts of the state. Utah gets the leftovers of those storms, which means that our forecast is a dreary one for the foreseeable future. As a result, there may be some days that I don’t post to Feathered Photography.
If that happens, don’t worry about me. It’ll most likely just be storm-related downtime.
Ron
Sensational series Ron!
Charlotte Norton
She’s still a stunner. I’ll admit that I’m not looking forward to more rain. 🌧 Got a bunch of water in a couple spots in the garage from last week’s storms, even though I have stuff to block the water. Fortunately, the roof isn’t leaking anywhere. At least I’m not snowed in, so silver linings.
Marty, this weather is weird. We had a snow squall move in not long ago, including thunder which is pretty unusual with snow. Sun’s out now.
Majestic and marvellous. And hard work.
I hope that the AR is not as bad as predicted (and fear it will be).
Thanks, EC. We can only hope.
Really like that second photo with the beautiful Golden foreground and big chunk of colorful rocks for background. Your remark about her “severely curled primaries” in the first photo makes me wonder, are they subject to stress fractures that way?
As for yet another “AR,” I’m hopeful it will be just a minor deluge with a helpful touch of mountain snow and then be done, for all of us. It is finally spring, so let’s have sun, birds and blooms! 🌼
“are they subject to stress fractures that way”
Chris, all I know is that if you bend a primary feather that you’re holding in your hand too far (about that far) the shaft will sort of break, and never be the same again.
And that makes sense … but one hopes they know better than to do that to themselves, no matter how badly they want to gain air speed and get off the ground! 🤞
Oh…those gorgeous wings❗️Bald eagles will always be my favorite but these are my second.
Yes, once again we’re expecting more rain and snow here. Enjoy our leftovers. You need it as much as us😊
“You need it as much as us”
I get the impression there’s plenty to go around. Thanks, Diana.
She needs a long runway like the C-5M Super Glaxy. Great shots Ron. Always appreciate these Golden photos because they are so rare right here in Prescott. We also are tied into that same weather pattern so I will be home for a few days too. I am sure my wife will put me to work. Now you can cull through your vast photo storage and find some new treasurers.
Thanks, Everett. I’m not sure how many “treasures” are left to be discovered but there should be a few.
Just as the eagle did a lot of heavy lifting to gain elevation, the heavy lifting of your own processing homework will make all of us blog students proud. Sounds like you enjoyed your career, many folks miss the opportunity to Enjoy one. Your blog is our morning coffee here in CO, we’ll see you when your weather clears as our weather will take on the remaining effects after leaving you. Happy homework!
“sounds like you enjoyed your career”
I sure did, Deb. I loved it in the classroom. It was what I call the “peripheral BS” that made me retire when I did.
I can almost feel myself tryin to help row the wings of the eagle when looking at those photos. A mighty effort. I think they should have been our national bird.
“I think they should have been our national bird.”
I’d have had absolutely no problem with that, Michael.
yeah, all that “homework” we used to do and haven’t missed for almost 20 years! I was thinking last night about you and Karline and I making the decision to take early retirement in 2003—–it was probably in February but I can’t be sure. But I was reminded with all the discussion of the “anniversary” of the Iraq invasion this weekend on the news. 20 years! Jeez.
Thanks for the memories, Sue. I’ve (we’ve) been retired for so long I forgot how long.
Beautiful! Particularly in the last photo I can see some “wear and tear” on those primaries.
“Homework” UGH! Always a challenge for me to complete….. 😉 My sit still time had long been exceeded by the time school was out and with 5 younger siblings……….
Even if a PITA hope the storms get you some more useful moisture!
“hope the storms get you some more useful moisture”
Judy, “useful” is the key word in that statement. In some ways we need all the moisture we can get but if we have a cool spring and then it gets hot quickly we’ll be in a world of hurt with flooding.
Even though the eagle is exerting so much effort I find the scenes relaxing and calming because of the natural surroundings and complementary colors.
In the second photo the shadow looks as if it is flying in the opposite direction.
Inclement weather can be an opportunity to recharge one batteries. I hope that’s the case for you. Hopefully huge snow dumps will be restricted to higher elevations.
“the shadow looks as if it is flying in the opposite direction”
You’re right, Lyle. It kinda does. I hadn’t noticed it.
The enforced “downtime” might be a gift for your healing, frustrating as it may
be……you’ve certainly got a lot of productive work you can do while you wait for
the skies to clear–reviewing, tweaking, sharpening–consider it “homework” !
You remember homework, I’ll bet ……
“You remember homework, I’ll bet”
I sure do, Kris. My students often felt sorry for themselves because they had to do homework. They had no idea how much I was doing and it was a lot.